One of my favourite pastimes is trolling round a few charity shops to see what they have in the way of books and jigsaw puzzles. A lovely tour of some half a dozen or so yesterday, with my daughter and grand-daughter (was something of a military operation...), produced three new books and an absolutely stunning 3,000 piece jigsaw. Here be they:
The books first, this includes two other purchases from AM. (As usual, click for a bigger pic.)
From the bottom:
Down the River - H.E. Bates. (Non-fiction, stunningly illustrated.)
The Oxford Book of Essays chosen & edited by John Gross (AM)
The Librarian - Salley Vickers
Under the Tuscan Sun - Frances Mayes
Voyages of Delusion - Glyn Williams (AM)
A few pics of the illustrations by Peter Partington in Down the River:
So delighted with this book find, I had no idea H.E. bates, the novellist (most famous for The Darling Buds of May I suppose and the wonderful, Fair Stood the Wind for France), had written this. Love how charity shops can often throw up these lovely little gems.
My gorgeous new jigsaw, bought for the princely sum of £2:
Lastly, it's been pretty warm here recently so I though I'd make a new pile of books with a cold theme, Polar exploration, mountains, that sort of thing:
From the bottom:
This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland - Gretel Ehrlich
In the Kingdom of Ice - Hampton Sides
Dancing on Ice - Jeremy Scott
Voyages of Delusion - Glyn Williams
The Magnetic North - Sara Wheeler
Climbing Days - Dan Richards
Happy reading, whether you're hot, cold or somewhere inbetween... it's actually quite pleasant here in Devon today, cooler than it has been and much more comfortable.
9 comments:
My favorite thing in all the world to do too, Cath! I loved all the charity shops in Scotland, I suppose it’s the same in England? What a gorgeous book that H.E. Bates is! I haven’t read any by Bates but did see the TV series The Darling Buds of May. I should put together books that are set in the desert as we’ve had lots of rain!
Great finds, Cath. I love the books, but I'm particularly impressed by that jigsaw puzzle. I learned from experience that those map puzzles are a whole lot harder than they look. You are going to get your money's worth (all two pounds of it) out of this one. Have fun!
Good luck with the jigsaw!
Peggy: Yes, it's same with charity shops in England as it is in Scotland. I read Fair Stood the Wind for France 'years' ago when one of our TV channels dramatised it. Other than that I don't think I've read anything else by him. Oh yes.. we did watch Darling Buds too. Yes... LOL... you want desert books now, or summery beachy books.
Sam: Yes, great finds, I was very happy. I've done a few map puzzles and you're right they're harder than they look. I like the older maps with various embellishments around the sides. It certainly was a bargain, I couldn't believe how cheap it was. Of course I don't actually know if it all there but am aware it might not be so it's fine.
Jo: Thank you... I might need it.
Under a Tuscan Sun takes me back reminding me of holidays in Tuscany. I loved this book and the follow up Bella Tuscany. What a beautiful jigsaw - a real bargain too!
I should make a stack of cold books. It's so hot here in Arizona, I'll do ANYTHING to cool off!
Margaret: I'm very jealous that you've been to Tuscany, wonderful! Pleased to hear you enjoyed that book.
Susan: I didn't realise you were in Arizona like Cathy from Kittling Books. I know from her how hot it gets there.
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